Chicago Bears 2007 Draft Preview
Football Betting Lines
04/04/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bears front seven was pushed around a fair amount in the latter stages of the 2007 season, so Chicago GM Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith are likely to focus on that area on the first day of the draft. A replacement for disgruntled linebacker Lance Briggs could come in the first round. Safety help should also be a priority for a team that has the oft-injured Mike Brown and Rams and Redskins failure Adam Archuleta on the current depth chart there. Offensively, there has been some lip service paid to allowing special teams ace Adrian Peterson back Cedric Benson at running back following the Thomas Jones trade, but it seems highly likely that Chicago will select a running back on the first day. Depth at wideout and along the offensive line will probably be among the second-day fare.
2006 Record: 13-3
First Pick: No. 31
Number of Selections: 7 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7)
RECENT FIRST ROUND HISTORY: 2006 - none; 2005 - Cedric Benson (RB, Texas); 2004 - Tommie Harris (DT, Oklahoma); 2003 - Michael Haynes (DE, Penn State), Rex Grossman (QB, Florida); 2002 - Marc Colombo (OT, Boston College); 2001 - David Terrell (WR, Michigan); 2000 - Brian Urlacher (LB, New Mexico); 1999 - Cade McNown (QB, UCLA); 1998 - Curtis Enis (RB, Penn State); 1997 - none; 1996 - Walt Harris (CB, Mississippi State); 1995 - Rashaan Salaam (RB, Colorado); 1994 - John Thierry (DE, Alcorn State); 1993 - Curtis Conway (WR, Southern California); 1992 - Alonzo Spellman (DE, Ohio State); 1991 - Stan Thomas (OT, Texas); 1990 - Mark Carrier (S, Southern California).
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The performance of the Dallas secondary was beyond poor during the second half of last season, and the emphasis in drafting corners and/or safeties this year will likely be focused on their ability to cover more than hit. Ano
<< Ducks welcome rival Sharks to Honda Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try for their fourth consecutive
victory tonight, when they welcome the rival San Jose Sharks to the Honda
Center.
The Ducks, Sharks and Dallas Stars have already clinched a playoff berth, but
are s
<< St. Louis Rams 2007 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rams were extremely active in free agency, signing
arguably the top wide receiver on the market (Drew Bennett), a very good tight
end (Randy McMichael), serviceable linebacker (Chris Draft), two players with
potential to
<< Seattle Seahawks 2007 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seahawks surrendered their first-round draft pick to
New England when they obtained Deion Branch via trade last September, and
expecting the team to add a potential starter at the No. 55 spot is probably a
bit of a stretc
<< Pirates target sweep in Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates will attempt to gain some early
control in the NL Central when they go for a series sweep of the Houston
Astros at Minute Maid Park.
For the second straight game, Pittsburgh beat up on Houston's bul
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona has long featured one of the weakest lines in the league, and with disappointing-yet-serviceable tackle Leonard Davis now a Cowboy, the Cardinals could be setting their sights on a player like Penn State's Levi Brown
Atlanta Falcons 2007 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Falcons have multiple needs on defense, and with the
No. 8 overall pick (obtained in the Matt Schaub trade) could justify selecting
any of the following players - safeties LaRon Landry (LSU) and Reggie Nelson
(Florida), t
Green Bay Packers 2007 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Ahman Green now a Houston Texan, the Packers have a
hole at running back that the franchise has not experienced heading into a
season since the pre-Edgar Bennett days. Head coach Mike McCarthy says he's
comfortable with
San Francisco 49ers 2007 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Niners are in major need of a No. 1 receiver after
releasing Antonio Bryant, and might have to look long and hard at multi-
talented Ohio State standout Ted Ginn, Jr. There are also secondary needs,
though the signings of
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2007 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If he is still available at No. 4, there is no way the
Buccaneers can pass up Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson. However, if
another team trades up to snatch Johnson with one of the first three picks, it
won't be the
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.